The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is providing $10 million to a private/public team tasked with establishing methods for measuring, reporting and verifying carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and sequestration in cement and concrete. The agency’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory will team with Colorado-based Prometheus Materials, whose biological process yields a calcium-rich…
Read MoreTag: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
Corps, ASCE, ACEC, APWA send infrastructure workforce message
To address a critical shortage of skilled professionals in infrastructure development, top engineering and public works stakeholders have launched the Engineering Workforce Consortium (EWC), keen on attracting the next generation of talent; retaining current engineering and public works human capital; and, advocating for industry growth and sustainability. EWC formation is the outcome of a recent American Council of Engineering Companies…
Read MorePCA’s Sullivan traces interest rate drop, construction activity rise
Sources: Portland Cement Association, Washington, D.C.; CP staff PCA Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of Market Intelligence Ed Sullivan told member producers during their fall meeting that the Federal Reserve’s recent move to lower interest rates, coupled with easing inflation, signals a significant retreat in interest rate levels by the end of next year—all to the benefit of residential…
Read MoreUncertainty tempers optimism in construction outlook survey
Researchers in the Construction Services Group of Marcum LLP, a leading accounting and advisory firm in New York, paint an overall positive view of current and future market trends in their just-released 2024 Marcum National Construction Survey. Key findings gleaned from responses to a 27-point survey of executives in building and nonbuilding markets include: “Despite the challenges facing the…
Read MoreConstruction outlook survey: ‘Optimism tempered by uncertainty’
Sources: Marcum LLP, New York; CP staff Researchers for the Construction Services Group of Marcum LLP, a leading accounting and advisory firm, paint an overall positive view of current and future market trends in their just-released 2024 Marcum National Construction Survey. Key findings gleaned from responses to a 27-point survey of executives in building and nonbuilding markets include: “Despite the…
Read MoreEPA quantifies $600B+ in clean water infrastructure needs through 2045
Sources: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; CP staff A new Environmental Protection Agency report to federal lawmakers projects future capital outlays to maintain or modernize publicly owned wastewater treatment works, stormwater infrastructure, nonpoint source control, and decentralized wastewater treatment systems like septic tanks. Such investments are deemed essential to supporting the Clean Water Act’s goal of fishable, swimmable waters from coast…
Read MoreThe Other Shoe Drops
In the last half of April, there were a couple of seminal economic events that, taken together, mark an example of proverbial shoes dropping, and for the first time in years, marks a cautionary signal on the economy. The first shoe to drop was when Fed Chairman Jay Powell unexpectedly announced that firmer-than-expected inflation during the first quarter has called…
Read MoreOpponents craft compelling arguments against Project Labor Agreement rule
If major construction project permitting, workforce and procurement challenges were not enough, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council has injected additional complications by making good on a White House directive requiring Project Labor Agreements on 100-plus contracts annually where federal funds exceed $35 million. Administration officials argue that PLAs promote economy and efficiency by eliminating the risk of delay associated with…
Read MoreABC: Davis-Bacon updates add paperwork, skew prevailing wage math
Capping a 28-month rulemaking process in August, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule, Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Regulations, which revises prevailing wage calculations and increases paperwork for contractors on federal and federally assisted construction projects. “This is yet another handout to organized labor on the backs of taxpayers, small businesses and the free market,”…
Read MoreBuild America, Buy America fine print contrasts cast-in-place, precast concrete
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has formally delineated Build America, Buy America (BABA) requirements as they relate to concrete materials for Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)-funded building or nonbuilding construction projects. Final BABA sourcing requirement guidance issued last month indicates procurement interpretations relating to cast-in-place and precast concrete. It puts to rest questions surrounding IIJA…
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